For some people, eating straight vegetables is tough. You might be one of these people. Perhaps you find yourself bored of the same old vegetables, verging on becoming a vegetable yourself. Then again, the taste may not be to your liking, or maybe it's the texture. I personally have never had any of these problems aside from the being bored out of my mind part, but several members of my family certainly have. In fact, my youngest brother claims that he can still taste the tomato on a sandwich even after it's been removed. Future husband (haha.) beware, because if you're picky or a proud carnivore, I've got some tricks up my sleeve ;)
Blend 'em up and hide 'em in things
Whether they're carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, onions, or any other vegetable, blend them up and use them as a thickener or flavoring for sauces and stews. You still get all of the benefits of the whole vegetable, you just can't see them. Put the pulp of carrots or other "pulpy" vegetables (shoot, you can even use apple pulp) into ground meat for burgers or meatloaf. This is perfect for picky eaters and kids.
Use them as replacements for grains
My mom's digestive system is really messed up, so she has to eat gluten free. Over the years, I've come up with ways to "recreate" some of our favorite meals without using products with gluten (or any other flour products for that matter). Making quiche using thinly-sliced potatoes as the crust is great, and sort of reminiscent of scalloped potatoes, without all of the fat. You can also use spaghetti squash as a replacement for spaghetti. Go Italian and use thinly sliced eggplant or zucchini in the place of lasagna noodles.
Replace "traditional" fats with them
I'm sure you've heard of the whole banana ice cream with one ingredient (spoiler alert: it's bananas) and applesauce in cake. But you can also blend up avocados with a little lime juice and use them to replace mayonnaise in chicken or tuna salad, or on sandwiches as a spread. I also love making chocolate frosting and mousse out of avocados.
Marinate them
This is less "hiding" them and more transforming them. A little vinegar and some spices (try to avoid salt, as pickling brines can make vegetables super high in sodium very easily) go a long way. I've just recently gotten in to using this type of technique in my food, inspired by Asian fusion cuisine. I just love the little sides of spicy, freshly-pickled cucumber slices or tangy-sweet slaws that come with barbecue and soups. Some rice wine vinegar, chili flakes, and a twist of lime are all you need to make a simple, tasty marinade.
What do you do to transform fruits and vegetables to include more of them in your diet? Let me know, because I always love new ideas!
Also, follow me on Twitter for more recipes and health tips at @EmRSullivan, #foodfromthought!
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
National Diabetes Awareness Month
No recipes today! It's National Diabetes Awareness Month, and with that, I'd like to put the focus on a part of diabetes that people aren't quite so aware of.
Diabulimia.
As a dietetics student, I have only heard of this eating disorder (currently categorized as an eating disorder not otherwise specified - EDNOS) twice. It was on a British TV show I was interested in for a while, and in another video we watched in a nutrition therapy class at school. No one else in the class had heard of it before then.
Diabulimia is exactly what it sounds like: diabetes and bulimia combined. People affected by diabulimia are those suffering from Type 1 diabetes.
Here's a basic rundown of what type 1 diabetes is: the body does not produce insulin, or it may not produce enough. Insulin is a hormone which picks up the sugars in your blood after you eat, delivering it to your liver and muscles to be processed or stored. That's why on TV, when you see a character with diabetes, they talk about "insulin shots". Since the body can't make its' own, it must be put there through a shot or a monitor. You can find more information on Type 1 as well as Type 2 diabetes here.
So where does the bulimia come in? Why is it called 'diabulimia'? Isn't bulimia the same for everybody?
In general Bulimia nervosa, the sufferer binges and purges - they eat a lot, then get rid of it by throwing up, taking laxatives, or exercising more than is considered healthy (in some cases, 8 or more hours per day). With diabulimics, it is the same basic concept: they still eat, but they also still lose weight. Diabulimics typically only eat foods containing carbohydrates, the body's source of sugars. With no insulin to pick up that sugar and store in the body's tissues, it just gets peed out. No storage = no weight gain.
The dangers of skipping insulin include thirst, fainting, blurred vision which eventually progresses into permanent blindness, coma, and even death among numerous other harmful outcomes.
This is the video I watched that first informed me of this little-known disorder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rs-g3fJJS8&t=40m39s
It's tragic, but a very real problem. Fortunately, it has been being recognized much more in recent media.
On the topic of eating disorders, I've decided that from here on out, I will no longer be posting the calorie content of my recipes. I had begun to cater to what I call "pinterest trends" in the way of blog content (basically: weightlossweightlossweightloss) to try to get more exposure to my blog, but I've begun to realize that in doing so, I've counteracted the ideas of health that I've been trying to convey in my posts. Though there aren't many people who read this blog, I don't want my blog to contain unnecessary triggers for those with or recovering from eating disorders. My blog is a health blog. I believe that there is more to health than weight, and that the nutrient content of a food is far more important than the calorie content. I want my emphasis to be on physical activity, lots of nutrients, and living a satisfactory, physically AND mentally well lifestyle. I will still be posting recipes, as well as nutritional information such as vitamins and minerals, as well as exercise tips and general fun health stuff.
If anyone would like to know the amount of calories in my recipes, there are plenty of websites and apps that you can plug recipes into to find out those numbers.
Also, my birthday is tomorrow!
Woo-oo-oo!
Diabulimia.
As a dietetics student, I have only heard of this eating disorder (currently categorized as an eating disorder not otherwise specified - EDNOS) twice. It was on a British TV show I was interested in for a while, and in another video we watched in a nutrition therapy class at school. No one else in the class had heard of it before then.
Diabulimia is exactly what it sounds like: diabetes and bulimia combined. People affected by diabulimia are those suffering from Type 1 diabetes.
Here's a basic rundown of what type 1 diabetes is: the body does not produce insulin, or it may not produce enough. Insulin is a hormone which picks up the sugars in your blood after you eat, delivering it to your liver and muscles to be processed or stored. That's why on TV, when you see a character with diabetes, they talk about "insulin shots". Since the body can't make its' own, it must be put there through a shot or a monitor. You can find more information on Type 1 as well as Type 2 diabetes here.
So where does the bulimia come in? Why is it called 'diabulimia'? Isn't bulimia the same for everybody?
In general Bulimia nervosa, the sufferer binges and purges - they eat a lot, then get rid of it by throwing up, taking laxatives, or exercising more than is considered healthy (in some cases, 8 or more hours per day). With diabulimics, it is the same basic concept: they still eat, but they also still lose weight. Diabulimics typically only eat foods containing carbohydrates, the body's source of sugars. With no insulin to pick up that sugar and store in the body's tissues, it just gets peed out. No storage = no weight gain.
The dangers of skipping insulin include thirst, fainting, blurred vision which eventually progresses into permanent blindness, coma, and even death among numerous other harmful outcomes.
This is the video I watched that first informed me of this little-known disorder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rs-g3fJJS8&t=40m39s
It's tragic, but a very real problem. Fortunately, it has been being recognized much more in recent media.
On the topic of eating disorders, I've decided that from here on out, I will no longer be posting the calorie content of my recipes. I had begun to cater to what I call "pinterest trends" in the way of blog content (basically: weightlossweightlossweightloss) to try to get more exposure to my blog, but I've begun to realize that in doing so, I've counteracted the ideas of health that I've been trying to convey in my posts. Though there aren't many people who read this blog, I don't want my blog to contain unnecessary triggers for those with or recovering from eating disorders. My blog is a health blog. I believe that there is more to health than weight, and that the nutrient content of a food is far more important than the calorie content. I want my emphasis to be on physical activity, lots of nutrients, and living a satisfactory, physically AND mentally well lifestyle. I will still be posting recipes, as well as nutritional information such as vitamins and minerals, as well as exercise tips and general fun health stuff.
If anyone would like to know the amount of calories in my recipes, there are plenty of websites and apps that you can plug recipes into to find out those numbers.
Also, my birthday is tomorrow!
Woo-oo-oo!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)